SOC 101 Test 1

Study Guide for Sociology Test

Karl Marx was mostly concerned with which type of inequality?

Social class

Which of the following is an example of material culture?

All of the above

Which theorist proposed that we're always acting, and different selves around different people and in different places

Erving Goffman

Who coined the term “The Sociological Imagination?”

C. Wright Mills

Which of the following combines both personal troubles and public issues?

A college graduate cannot find a job because an economic recession has led to widespread layoffs in their industry.

The ASA has developed its own code of ethics to help researchers to avoid bias, to adhere to professional standards and:

Protect respondents from harm.

Which of the following is/ are an example of a counterculture in the US?

the Ku Klux Klan

Studying the role of gestures and body language in face-to-face communication is an example of:

Micro-sociology

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of “intersectionality”?

A legal case showing how anti‑discrimination law fails to protect women of color because it treats race and gender as independent categories

Which concept explains why individuals often internalize societal norms without conscious awareness?

Socialization

Identify the loaded question:

Why are you still wasting taxpayer money on ineffective programs?

Which of these is an example of backstage behavior in a workplace?

A chef joking with staff in the kitchen away from diners

There is a dynamic interplay between individual agency and social structure.

False

Process of evaluating our position in the world, the rules we are expected to follow, and resources we have or acquire.

Reflexivity

Role conflict – inconsistency between two or more roles.

True

Why is the sociological imagination important for understanding inequality?

It reveals how systemic factors may shape individual outcomes.

-------- is the adopting or adapting to a set of informal rules and manners attuned to a particular or specific setting.

Code switching

What is the central question Mears explores in her article on VIP people and relational work?

Why women work for free in elite nightlife settings

Per Marx, in a capitalist society, social conflict is primarily between capitalists and workers.

True

Ascribed status cannot influence one’s achieved status.

False

Culture can justify and reinforce inequalities.

True

Unlike the US, in many European countries the relative poverty line is often linked to ---------

The median household income

Poor and working-class parents tend to practice what Lareau calls ............

accomplishment of natural growth

Which of the following best describes “cultural relativism”?

Understanding a culture on its own terms without judgment

What is the primary critique of the “culture of poverty” argument?

It blames individuals for systemic issues

What does the term “absolute poverty” refer to?

A lack of access to basic necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare

What is one reason low-income families may be perceived negatively when practicing free-range parenting?

They are stereotyped as neglectful due to socioeconomic biases

Which of the following is a potential consequence of cancel culture on public discourse?

Self-censorship and fear of speaking out

A lab tech who also works as a janitor experiences discomfort when lab colleagues discover his second job. This reflects:

Status inconsistency

A neighborhood with predominantly low-income residents lacks grocery stores, public transportation, and quality schools. This is an example of:

A food desert

As a nurse, James is expected to care for patients, follow medical protocols, and communicate with doctors. These expectations are part of his:

Role

Why do upscale retail stores prefer hiring class-privileged workers?

They embody the brand’s desired aesthetic

Aesthetic labor is most commonly associated with which industry?

Retail and hospitality

Why is beauty bias considered a structural issue in some industries?

It is embedded in hiring norms and organizational culture

A bookstore prefers candidates who appreciate classic literature and can recommend niche titles. This hiring preference reflects:

Cultural capital

Which of the following theories recognizes that people suffer from multiple oppressions:

Intersectionality

How does aesthetic labor contribute to social inequality?

It favors workers who already possess class-based cultural capital

Which of the following is considered an achieved status?

a doctor

A learned disposition, based within the particular social world a person inhabits.

Habitus

A person born to poor parents becomes a successful entrepreneur. This is an example of:

Upward intergenerational mobility

Which of the below workplace policies would help reduce beauty bias?

Implementing blind résumé screening and structured interviews

Mears explores how beauty operates in elite party circuits as:

A source of status and economic profit for wealthy men

A sociologist studies how capitalism creates inequality between workers and owners. Which early thinker most directly influenced this approach?

Marx

A student feels pressure to get married by a certain age because of strong cultural expectations, even though they personally disagree. Durkheim would describe this pressure as:

A social fact

A researcher lives within a community for a year, observing daily life and conducting informal interviews. This method is best described as:

Ethnography

A warehouse worker performs the same repetitive task all day and has no connection to the finished product. Marx would argue this worker is alienated from:

Species‑being